But yes. Level scaling is rubbish. I mean, what's the point of giving me extra damage if you give all the enemies extra HP? This just means that the game doesn't really want to give me the extra damage in the first place. If you're going to make my character more powerful, then you should be able to balance it without needing to level scale. The whole point of getting stronger is so you can curb-stomp some rats.
I think one of the underlying "reasons" for level-scaling is a lack of enemy mobs available at each level. It takes a looong time to 3-D model, and animate each individual mob, along with any equipment variations, etc.
While I don't like "too much" level scaling, I understand the development investment. One way to offset that is what Sword Coast Legends is doing and that is allowing customization of the combat/magic "abilities" of existing enemies and changing their equipment/colors/etc. This allows a much wider range of difficulty. I would, I think, prefer no "level scaling" of a "base" enemy (other than perhaps +/- 10% adjustment) and then allowing customization of their abilities. This way an "Orc" is basically an Orc. But an Orc with firey armor and a lightning-tinged greatsword is something to be more cautious about.
I think
Ace Attorney (and similar games) have the best dedicated "persuasion" mechanics I've seen so far.
I also liked the
Diplomacy mechanic in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
